He's Fast, She's Furious
by zTiamaTz
Summary: A firing, and a two grand pay day, make Xander's life a whole lot more interesting.
1. Chapter One

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

**zTiamaTz**

**Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Series, along with the characters from their respective shows are owned by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

**Disclaimer 2: The Fast and the Furious franchise is owned by Universal Pictures.**

**Description: A firing, and a two grand pay day, makes Xander's life a whole lot more interesting.**

**A/N: This takes place prior to the first movie.**

**:-:-: - Denotes the beginning/end of a flashback.**

**||0||**

**CHAPTER ONE**

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

As I watched Sanchez's 3000GT start to nose ahead of me, I knew I was in deep shit. I should have never taken his challenge, but I wasn't going to let a bastard like _him_ show me up.

There was a reason people called him 'Dirty' behind his back, I called him that to his face though. He'd been on my shit-list ever since that house party where he'd smacked his girlfriend around.

Even worse, I heard he payed off a lady who's little girl he molested. Women in the ghetto don't suddenly come up with a thousands in cash without hitting the lottery, and there sure as hell wasn't a ticket.

It was amazing how cops in this city could look the other way when a little girl got raped, but God forbid your windows were tinted too fucking dark, plenty of tickets for that though... I shook off the anger quickly, now wasn't the time.

He was now half a car length ahead, and he hadn't even used nitrous yet. I'd had to, just to keep up in my ill-equipped Accord. Sure it was nice against the average racer, but Sanchez had the cash to back his mouth.

As I watched Dirty move even further ahead, I could see my respect and two K disappear. I couldn't believe I'd gotten myself into this mess.

**:-:-:**

_We'd been hanging out, waiting for the races to start. I was eying up a pretty blond when that prick showed up in his cherry red 99' Mitsubishi 3000GT. The car was nice, even when it was stock. I could have afforded one if I was willing to give up a whole lot. The difference was he'd sunk at least forty K more into the car from the tires up._

_There were only a few cars that could really match it, Dom's RX7, and from what I'd heard, Johnny Tran's S2000 amongst them. My blue 96' Accord, not so much. Dom had offered to hook me up, but considering how much he'd already helped me, I wouldn't take it. I was determined to pay for everything I did to my car, up front._

_He stopped his car, right in front of Mine and Letty's, which was a big no-no. It was like an unwritten rule, no one knew when the cops might show up, so everyone made sure they could get out of there quickly._

_Dirty got out of his car, ignoring us, and immediately went over to the blond I'd been checking out. He whispered something in her ear, she giggled, then he handed her his card. That mother fucker._

_"Anybody wanna race tonight?" He called out, even as he stared right at me. "I know you guys are poor, so I'll keep it low, two G's!"_

_"The races are already set for the night," Vince told him, getting up in his face. "So why don't you fuck off."_

_Sanchez smirked at that, I couldn't believe the balls on the guy._

_"How 'bout mister sucker-punch over there," He said, pointing over Vince's shoulder at me. "You wanna race me in your Matchbox car essa?"_

_"You know his car isn't a match for yours Sanchez." Dom said, as he stepped up. "Why don't you take on somebody that can actually burn you for once?"_

_"I'd rather be known as a sucker-puncher, then a guy that beats on women, asshole."_

_Dirty ignored me, as he side-stepped Vince, to look up at Dom. "What, you think you, or your surly friend here," He indicated Vince. "Can intimidate me Toretto?"_

_"Hey Dirty, you're blocking my fuckin' car, move it!"_

_We all turned to see Letty walking back up. Most likely coming back from chasing off another bunch of girls eager to get a piece of Dom. He was just a lucky son of a bitch all around._

_"Shut up you puta bit-"_

_He never got to finish his sentence, since Dom grabbed by the neck and slammed him face down onto the hood of his car. As the big man raised his fist, I realized Sanchez must have had a death with to do something 'that' stupid._

_"Go ahead Toretto, assault me." Sanchez taunted. "My Father's lawyers will be more then happy to know your name. We'll take your garage, that dirty sandwich shop, even your old man's house." He gave that stupid grin again. "Please Toretto, bruise me."_

_The people gathering around, looked on in disgust at his cowardice. It was sad that girls would still go out with him because he came from money, even after this, you could guarantee there would still be a few._

_"So c'mon Harris, the big-shot," Sanchez said cockily, as he pointed up at the very angry Dom. "Take his dick outta your mouth an' put the money up."_

_I realized this whole thing had been a setup. Cause a scene to get a big crowd together, so he could call me out. If I said no, I looked like a pussy, if I said yes, he'd easily torch me. Either way he won._

_"Fuck it." I growled, I wasn't about to just give up. "Let's do this."_

**:-:-:**

He continued to pull ahead, I _knew_ I was going to lose, but I decided to keep my second shot for the end, at least make it _look_ like it was close. Then suddenly, Sanchez was airborne.

I had to slam on my brakes, the screech of the tires was deafening as they left a huge trail of rubber down the street. I cringed, since I had just dropped eight hundred on those Yoko's.

Sanchez's car flipped a couple of times, hitting a couple of parked cars, and as far as I could tell hadn't hit anyone. I looked back and saw what caused the whole thing, a yellow jeep. It was half-wrapped around a telephone pole, not good.

After backing up my car, I got out to check and see if they were okay. Even though I wasn't the one to hit them, I still felt responsible. I was also pissed at whoever it was that was supposed to block off this section of the street, this never should have happened.

"Alex!"

I looked back to see Hector, and his girlfriend running up, they must have come from the finish line.

"You need to get the fuck outta here man, po-po's on it's way."

I shook my head. "I'm not going to leave who ever's in there." I tossed my keys to Julie. "Take it back to the house for me, okay?"

She caught them easily. "Sure sweetie, don't make us have to come bail you out though."

They watched silently, as I took off my jacket, and wrapped some of my things in it, before handing it to Hector. "Do me a favor and keep this somewhere safe."

Hector gave me a quick nod, before he and Julie headed right for my car, with her boyfriend jumping in the passenger seat. She'd drop him off at his Civic, and clear out. I could hear the rumble of all the engines as cars took off as quickly, not wanting to be caught up in what was sure to be a shit-storm.

I ran up to the Jeep and surveyed the damage, the passenger side was crushed inward, and the thing had hit so hard, I could touch both bumpers without stretching. I prayed to God the driver was by themselves.

As I got to the drivers side, I saw that it was a brunette, not moving. I tried the door, but it wouldn't budge. Quickly stripping off my t-shirt, I wrapped it around my elbow and smashed the window.

I could see now, that she was alone, but out, checking her pulse I saw that it was strong. Finally, I brushed the hair out of her face, and got a good look at her, I stepped back in shock. "Cordy?"

**||0||**

**A/N 2: I know some people are wondering why I started _another_ story. I'm simply going where my mind takes me, I get focused on something, and I go with it.**

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**END**


	2. Chapter Two

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

**zTiamaTz**

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**CHAPTER TWO**

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**++Xander POV++**

The cops showed up soon after. Luckily, unlike Dom, Leon, or Vince, they didn't know my face. I just blended into the crowd, like I was just walking down the street.

There were some witnesses, spectators without cars that had nothing to lose. '_The red car came out of nowhere and plowed into this poor lady._' '_No, I didn't get a good look at the other car, it might have been yellow, maybe white?_' They all knew who I was, but nobody was going to give me up.

After slathering the cops with enough bullshit, they finally let us all leave, and I quickly caught a cab to the hospital. I was going to let Cordy know I was involved, if she wanted me to turn myself in, I'd do it then.

By the time I got there, Cordelia was in a private room in the ER. The head nurse asked about insurance and other info, so I just told her I was a close friend, and she didn't have any family in the area.

I told her people in the area who knew us called me, and let me know what happened. She bought the whole thing, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I found out the worst Cordelia had was a concussion, along with some cuts and bruises.

That amazed the hell out of me, considering the condition that Jeep was in. The wonders of the seat belt, and airbags would never cease.

After calling Dom's sister, Mia, and letting her know everything was okay, I went back to sit with Cordy. I knew I could just give her the same line the cops got, but I still owed her. At the very least, she deserved an apology. Taking a seat next to Cordelia's side, I waited to find out what my fate was going to be.

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

I woke up to bright lights and white walls. From the beeping, I knew I was back in the hospital, _again_. The last thing I remembered was a red _something_, probably a car coming at me.

Then I noticed someone was holding my left hand, I figured it was probably Wes or Gunn, maybe even Angel, come to grovel.

"You okay Cor?"

I slowly turned my head toward the _very_ familiar voice. "Xander?"

"Yeah, how are you feeling?" He asked, with obvious concern on his face.

"My head is freaking killing me, what the heck happened?"

He looked at the sliding glass door, to see no one was around, before turning back to me. "I was racing this asshole named Sanchez." He told me in a low voice. "He was the one that clipped you."

Like I was going to believe that, Xander a street racer? _Please_. "Very funny Xander," I snorted. "Was your name on a contact list from high school or something?"

"Fine." He said simply. "Then how do I know you drive a yellow Jeep, and that I found it wrapped around a telephone pole on Fourth Street?"

I started to think about it. He could be a jackass, but he wasn't one to make jokes when someone was in the hospital. Plus, with the way he kept looking down at the floor, he seemed guilty about _something_.

"Wait, that guy was going at least eighty miles-"

"More like ninety." He cut in.

"Fine, whatever. How the heck were you going to race a guy in that bucket of bolts you drive?"

He shushed me, as he again watched the hallway warily, as a couple of nurses walked by. "Look, I'll tell you everything once we get out of here, but I'd like to _not_ get arrested if I can avoid it."

I just couldn't believe he was serious, but I was too sleepy to care.

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

I woke up with a start, as something smacked my knee. If I wasn't trying to beg for my ex's forgiveness, I probably would have laughed my ass off. She was swinging the corded TV remote like a deadly weapon, trying to whack me again.

"It's about freaking time dork."

I let out a yawn, and ran my fingers through my hair. "Sorry Cor, rough night."

She gave me a glare that could make a man curl up on the floor and whimper like a baby. Luckily, through great personal struggle, I had become immune over time.

"Okay, not as rough as yours." I acceded.

"Is what you said last night true?"

"Which part?" I didn't know _why_ I did this to myself.

"I swear to God Xander," She shook the remote at me. "I would be beating you over the head with that chair right now, if I didn't have to worry about my ass hanging out of this gown."

"That's not true Cor, your ass is firm, tight even..."

"Xander." She growled.

"It could even be on the cover of Buns of-" My wonderful compliment was interrupted, as something caught me on the side of the face. "_Ow_."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you sent off to be Bruno's new cellmate."

I looked up, and saw her reeling in that remote, this woman was pure evil. "That wasn't very nice." I told her, as I continued to rub my jaw.

"I'll make it up to you," She gave me one of those smiles. "When you get settled in, I'll send you a soap on a rope."

"Okay, okay," I said, holding up my hands in surrender. "I want to make this up to you, but I won't be able to do it if I get busted."

I had gotten a call from Dom, while Cordy was sleeping. He wasn't happy that I'd told her the truth, but he understood. He told me that he had had a plan that would smooth things over.

"Start talking." Cordelia ordered.

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

I was finally ready to be discharged after wait _four_ hours for a doctor to show up. At least the loser was here to keep me company. And as angry as I was with him, I didn't really want to see him in jail, not that I'd let _him_ know that.

We discussed the idea he'd had, while it wasn't all there, it was a start. Then, I found out I didn't have any clothes. Apparently, my Jeep was such a mess, they were afraid I had internal injuries, and cut them off.

I'd also found out that Xander went by 'Alex' now. I could understand it, my Aunt Christina had called me Cece throughout my childhood. It was cute when I was a kid, but it had taken forever to get her to stop.

Alex had said he'd take care of the clothing issue, and we were now waiting for his 'friends' to show up. At first I was worried about what outfit they'd be bringing, assuming they'd be getting some of his stuff. Then I took a good look at what he had.

To say I was surprised, was an understatement. He was wearing a plain gray T-shirt, with blue jeans and black work boots. His arms showed muscle I'd never realized he had, lost under those awful, over-sized shirts of his.

While they'd be big on me, at least I wouldn't look like I'd had an accident at the circus when I left the hospital.

His 'friends' themselves were the next surprise, two women. Both were pretty, one white, one latina. Sitting in the hospital bed, I couldn't help but feel jealous, but I didn't know why. I was _so_ over the big goof.

Soon after, the two introduced themselves. Mia, the white girl, was dressed fashionably, yet simply. Letty on the other hand, looked like she shopped at the same store Faith did, but I wasn't going to hold that against her, not _yet_ anyway.

Both were friendly, and neither seemed to be attached to him either. What was up with him surrounding himself with pretty girls all of the time?

"We just had to come meet Alex's famous ex, Cordelia."

I turned an eye at him, wondering what _that_ was supposed to mean. I saw him trying to shut Mia up, moving his hand in a slicing motion across his neck.

"Yeah," Letty added. "He keeps dating all these girls, but none of 'em seem to be as good as you were."

"_Really_?" I asked, staring straight at him.

"I- it's just that-" He was really squirming now.

"Well?"

The two women giggled at his uncomfortable position, I was liking them more already.

"Uh... None of them have measured up to the Queen C standard." He said quickly.

"Like _that's_ a big surprise."

"And if it makes you feel any better honey, that prick who hit you is a quad now." Letty told me with a smirk.

"Quad?"

"Quadriplegic, that asshole wasn't wearing his harness, he slammed his head against the roof of his car, who knows how many times."

"Yeah," Mia added, as she handed me a small pile of clothes. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy _either_."

**||0||**

As I made my way to the bathroom, careful to not give anyone a show in the hospital gown, all I could think was wow. The guy that hit me must have been a real bastard to get that kind of hatred.

I cleaned up, and checked out the clothes Mia had brought me. The doctors had at least been nice enough not to cut apart my bra and panties, and the clothes I had in front of me would work fine.

As I pulled them on, I just hoped Alex's idea worked as well as he'd said it would. I was sure the hospital bill alone was going to massive, and I didn't want to ruin my credit rating.

Pushing that thought aside for the time being, I checked myself in the mirror one last time. The cut on my forehead would take a few days to heal, but the doctor had assured me there would be no scarring.

The rest of the cuts and bruises were no big deal, working with Angel, I'd gotten plenty before. Finally, I pulled my hair back into a simple ponytail, and went back out to meet them.

**||0||**

**END**


	3. Chapter Three

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

**zTiamaTz**

**||0||**

**CHAPTER THREE**

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**++Xander POV++**

"Wow Alex," Mia said, as Cordelia disappeared into the bathroom. "How did you snag her, she's _way_ out of your league." She teased.

"And why did you break up anyway?" Letty added. "You never had a bad word to say about her."

"I fucked up." I said with a shrug, it wasn't like a had a defense. "She caught me kissing another girl, biggest mistake of my life."

Letty shook her head. "That's stupid, if I caught Dom-"

"Oh!" Mia interrupted. "I almost forgot, Hector wanted me to give this to you."

She tossed me a wad of cash, which I quickly counted. "There's four grand here." I stated, confused.

She shrugged. "He said that if you kept going, you would have crossed the finish line first anyway."

I couldn't argue with that, and shoved the wad into my pocket. I was going to give it to Cordy later, in case she had to miss an audition or something.

"He also dropped off something _else_ too, wrapped up in your coat." Mia told me.

Crap, I was busted.

"You wanna explain why you were carrying your piece to the races last night?"

That was easy enough, it was a helluva lot easier to stake a vamp after you kneecapped him. Not that I'd tell _them_ that. I didn't actively hunt anymore, but that didn't mean I didn't keep my eye out either.

"I've been seeing this car for the past couple of days in my rear view. I figured they might be looking to try something, that's all."

"You didn't get in any trouble, did you?"

"No Mia, I didn't." She was only a couple of years older then me, but she tried to act like a mom or something. It would have been nice to have when I was growing up, but now, I just needed to do things my way.

**||0||**

We finally got Cordy out of the hospital, dressed in some of Mia's clothes. They weren't something I ever expected to see her wear, jeans and blouse, but _damn_ she looked good in them.

As the valet pulled up with my car and got out, he raised his hands. "To our parking lot and back, that's it." He told Letty.

"_This_ is your freaking car?" Cordelia exclaimed. "What happened to that old convertible of yours?"

My Accord was electric blue with a black stripe going down both sides of the car. Over the blue and black were red, jagged slashes. I wasn't one for a fancy paint job, but Dom and the guys had 'stolen' it a few days before my birthday, and had it done.

Considering the work I'd found out Jesse had put into making it look _that_ good, I wasn't going to complain. I just didn't want to be known as one of those assholes that was all show, and no go.

Mia snorted. "It's some rich guy's wet dream by now."

Cordelia gave me a confused look, so I decided to oblige her. "The transmission dropped out when I got to LA. It was cheaper to sell it off as a restoration project, then it was to get it fixed."

"How did you end up in LA, selling your car and meeting all of these new people? What about Buffy and Willow?"

As we piled into my car, with Letty and Mia in the back, I decided to tell her what happened. "It was like this..."

**:-:-:**

**++Xander POV++**

_I walked out of the 7-11 after another night of washing dishes at Rhonda's diner. Working at that dump made me miss my time at the Fabulous Ladies Club, the money had been a whole lot better, and my hands didn't look like they'd spent time in a deep fryer._

_As I carried my dinner for the night, a Snapple and two hot dogs back to my motel room, I heard a scream a few stores down. Looking over, I saw a woman struggling with two guys over something near a red sports car._

_"Give us the fuckin' keys bitch!" One of them screamed, as he continued to try to wrestle what must have been the keys in question from her hands. The other seemed to just be there as a lookout._

_That was enough for me, I dropped my hot dogs, and ran over to help. The lookout stepped up to intercept me, but he ended up catching my thrown Snapple bottle in the face, knocking him on his ass._

_The one wrestling with the girl turned to me, obviously pissed about what I'd done to his friend. "This ain't none o'ya business white boy. Get the fuck outta here, fore you get capped."_

_I picked up the remains, and managed to get a decent enough grip on the tiny neck. What I showed the guy had nasty edges to it, the kind you didn't want piercing your body. The other one's face wasn't so lucky though, judging by the amount of blood that was pouring out of his badly broken nose._

_"If you had a gun, you would have used it." I told him, stepping up. "Let the girl go, before you end up like him." I motioned to the groaning man on the pavement._

_His eyes went back and forth between the bloody bottle in my hand, and his buddy on the ground a couple of times, trying to judge his odds._

_"With all the noise, the cops will be here shortly." I told him flatly._

_"Fuck this shit." He moved over to his friend, keeping a wide distance between us, and dragged him to his feet. It wasn't long before they were out of sight from us, around the side of the strip mall._

_I was about to ask the girl if she was okay, when he reappeared, once again screaming._

_"Don't let me see you again boy! I'm gon' fuck your shit up!"_

_I just stood there, holding my hands out to my sides, inviting him to come back for more. I watched as the creep disappeared once again and didn't come back. I was by no means a tough guy, but after fighting vamps for three years, a couple of untrained thugs were no sweat._

_"Thanks, my brother would have killed me if I lost this car." The girl said, bringing my attention back to her._

_"Are you okay, they didn't hurt you, did they?" I asked._

_"No, I'm fine, they weren't expecting me to put up that kind of fight." She said with satisfaction in her voice._

_I nodded at that, I'd been underestimated like that plenty of times back in Sunnydale. While it was definitely annoying, it had sure worked to my advantage on a couple of occasions._

_"My room is nearby." I offered, before realizing how it sounded. "I mean, you can use the phone there." I quickly corrected._

_"No, I just need to get out of here." She told me, as she picked up a case of Corona's, and loaded it into the still open trunk._

_I went to grab the second case, when the sirens started, the cops were on their way._

_She suddenly got nervous, like she didn't want to be anywhere nearby when they arrived._

_Picking it up, I helped her stick that one in the trunk as well._

_"Come on, we've got to go."_

_I closed the trunk, wondering what the deal was. "This car isn't hot, is it? I didn't just help you steal it from it's owners, did I?"_

_She shook her head. "No, but I don't want the cops anywhere near this car, now get in."_

_Who was I to argue with a beautiful woman offering me a ride? I got in, and we took off._

_As we drove to somewhere, I decided to break the ice, but try something different. "My name's Alex by the way."_

_She gave me a quick smile, as she took a corner at forty. "Mia."_

**:-:-:**

**END**


	4. Chapter Four

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

zTiamaTz

:-:-: - Denotes the beginning/end of a flashback.

**||0||**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

I turned back to Mia once Alex finished his story. "Did those guys ever get caught?"

Mia simply shook her head.

"Trust me," Letty added. "That car is worth _a lot_ more then seeing those two dicks sit in county for a few months."

"What is it, a Ferrari or something?"

I watched as the three of them burst out laughing, I didn't understand why though. If this car was so valuable, it was a valid question.

Alex stopped at a light, and gave me an amused smile. It didn't last after I smacked him on the arm.

"You're already in it deep from being in that race mister, this joke had better be _very_ funny."

"It's just, do _we_," He waved his hand around the car. "Look like people that could own a Ferrari?"

I closed my eyes, annoyed that I was out of my depth. Sure, I knew my Mustang, but other then that, not a whole lot. I just never had a reason to.

"Is it nicer then Alex's?"

Another round of laughter started. The dweeb was _so_ dead for this.

**||0||**

I suddenly noticed that I didn't recognize where we were driving. It had never clicked, that Alex had no idea where my apartment was. "Where are we headed anyway?"

"We're going to my place, there's a barbecue being prepared for Alex's victory." Letty informed me with a smirk.

Turning back to Alex, I gave him a glare. My Jeep was totaled, and he was _celebrating_?

"Hey," He held up his hands, before placing them back on the wheel. "I was in the hospital all night with you, this is the first I heard of it."

"The guy that hit you was a kid toucher." Mia said. "That's why we're celebrating."

That got my attention. "Really?" I was hoping they weren't just saying that.

"Dirty, he used to have his way with little girls in the ghetto, then pay off the mother's to keep their mouths shut. His dad is some big-shot executive for a food company, so Sanchez tossed hundreds around like they were nothing."

"Good then." I replied coldly. My insurance would cover the Jeep, and that son of a bitch would never get his hands on another child again. That didn't mean Alex was off the hook though.

With that, I turned back to Alex. "So dork, you saved the girl, which you seem to make a habit of."

"What can I say, I-"

"Can the bullshit Harris." Letty interrupted.

I giggled at that, these two knew him _real_ well. "How come you didn't go back to Sunnydale, I thought you were a lifer?"

**:-:-:**

**++Xander POV++**

_We finally pulled up to a house on a quiet block. The house itself was anything but quiet though, it looked like there was a helluva party going on inside. "Ah, I wasn't exactly invited..."_

"It's my house, you're officially invited as of now." Mia told me, as she got out of the car.

I did the same, and looked around. There was a shitload of beautiful cars like Mia's parked up and down the street, every one of them put mine to shame. "Are you in some kinda car club?"

"Something like that." She told me as she grabbed her purse and closed the door. "C'mon, help me with those Corona's."

I stepped up to the trunk as it opened by itself. Being the manly-man I was, I stacked one on top of the other, and picked them up with a grunt.

"Do you need a hand with that stuff?" She asked, as we headed for the door.

"Nah, I got it, just get the door for me." I stepped into the house ahead of her, and immediately knew I was in the wrong place. It was filled with hot women in skimpy clothes, and a bunch of hulking guys. The exact kind of parties I'd never been invited to in high school.

"I uh-" I felt a shove from behind as Mia came into the house.

"Just go for the kitchen, if anybody gets in the way, just start pushing, they'll figure it out."

"Jesse, clear off some space!" She called out to somebody.

"Yeah sure," A sarcastic voice came from the side. "I live to serve." A blond guy pushed a bunch of plastic cups and half-empty bottles to the side of the counter.

Finally able to put my load down, I found him staring right at me.

"And you are?"

"This is Alex," Mia cut in. "A couple of assholes tried to carjack me outside the beer store, he scared them off."

"Good job." He complimented holding out his hand. "Jesse."

I took it and shook. "Thanks, nice to meet you."

"Dom's RX7 is a work of art, we can't just let a couple of heathens take it for a joy ride."

"It's good to know you rate his car above me."

"Oh come on Mia. Those guys would end up in the hospital for the car, for you, Dom would kill 'em both."

"What's this about my car, and killing somebody?" A deep voice asked behind us.

I turned around to a mountain. The guy was maybe an inch or so taller then me, but he was massively built. There were two guys on either side of him, almost like bodyguards, as if he needed them.

The guy at his left had slicked back hair, and was in a red T-shirt and jeans. He had this look on his face like he expected something funny to happen any moment. The guy on the right was the polar-opposite.

He had bushy hair and a couple of days growth on his face. The guy wore a tank top, that showed off a lot of tats, it looked like he'd just gotten out of jail. Plus, he didn't look happy to see me, at all.

The big guy glanced over to the one on his right, and turned back with a grin. "So who's your new friend?"

I could see the one on the left was smiling too, I was definitely missing something here.

**:-:-:**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

Alex stopped talking when Letty and Mia started howling in the back seat. "It's not _that_ funny." He insisted.

"Yes it is." Mia tried to catch her breath. "My brother can make a whole lot of guys piss themselves with a look. Then you've got poor Vince, who thought you were trying to move in on me too."

"C'mon Mia," Alex interrupted. "I've met guys a _lot_ scarier then Dom, I just wasn't expecting him."

"It's true, I don't know how big your brother is, but I can guarantee he isn't as scary as some of the guys Alex met back in Sunnydale." I decided to add, figuring it couldn't hurt.

He shook his head at me, I guessed he didn't want these two asking questions about the Hellmouth.

"Plus, I don't know why you don't give Vince chance, he's a good guy..."

"Only _you_ would defend a guy that was going to take your head off Harris." Letty needled.

"We found some common ground, it's a guy thing." He insisted.

This was fun, I hadn't seen Alex in over a year, and now we were right back to where we had left off. Busting his butt never got old, and now I had some extra help to do it. I wasn't seeing a downside...

**||0||**

**END**


	5. Chapter Five

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

zTiamaTz

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**:-:-:**

**++Xander POV++**

_"This is Alex," Mia introduced. "I met him near the liquor store, and he gave me a hand with the cases."_

She had left a big chunk out of that story. I didn't know why, maybe she was embarrassed? So I decided to play along. "Yeah, it looked like she needed some help is all..."

"Alex, the big guy in the middle is my brother Dom. To his left is Leon, and the guy trying to burn a hole through your head with his eyes, is Vince.

"So what made you decide to bring a stray home?"

I wasn't sure if her brother was insulting me or not, but I decided to push my luck. "It must be my magnetic personality, and rugged good looks."

I could see Leon hiding a grin, and I could hear Mia behind me chuckling.

"It sure as heck wasn't that shirt of yours."

"Jesse." Mia chastised.

I always hated that. My clothes weren't that great, but that's because mom and dad always drank up most of the money, so I'd had to get clothes wherever I could find them.

"Well some of us don't have the money for fancy cars and nice clothes." I shot back.

"So what do you drive?" Dom asked.

"Well, it was a 57' Belair Convertible, until the transmission dropped out. I'm working at a diner, trying to make enough money to get it fixed."

"He's working at that grease pit, Rhonda's, over on Stanton." Mia explained. "You think we can get him something better?"

I shook my head. "No Mia, it's okay-"

"Yeah," The big man said. "Some help at the shop, a go-for at the garage. We can work something out."

"C'mon Dom, we don't know this guy." Vince argued. "You're gonna leave him alone in the store with Mia..."

It suddenly clicked what the problem this guy had with me was. "How about you and I have a chat, outside." I nodded my head toward the nearby back door.

"Alex, you don't want-"

"I'm not looking for a fight." I replied simply, as I stared the scruffy man down.

He was staring right back, when Mia's brother nudged him with his shoulder.

Vince gave Dom a dirty look, before head toward the door. "Let's go."

**:-:-:**

"So what did you guys say to each other?" Mia asked.

"I told you, it's a guy thing." I insisted, it wasn't my place to discuss Vince's business.

"He told Vince he'd gone through the same shit, and that he wouldn't make a play for you." Letty informed her.

I slammed on the brakes without thinking. Luckily it was a suburban street, so no one was there to rear-end me. "How the hell did you know that?"

She snorted. "I was out back sneaking a smoke, you know Dom was trying to get me to quit back then."

"Who were you-" Cordelia asked suddenly. "Oh... _Angel_."

I wasn't sure where the hate came from, but I was glad to see at least _one_ of the girls didn't think he walked on freaking water. "Yeah, mister tall, dark, and hair gel himself." I said with disgust.

"You two had a whole conversation about who got to _date_ me?"

Oh shit, all I needed was a car full of angry women. I'd seen this plenty over the years, one of them got all riled up, and the rest just went right along with it.

"Nah, it wasn't like that." Letty cut in, saving my ass. "I heard the whole thing."

**:-:-:**

**-Letty POV-**

_I heard the back door open, so I crouched down, behind my Nissan. All I needed, was to hear Dom go off about me smoking again._

Vince and another guy I didn't recognize came out, I figured they were gonna throw down. Normally, I'd just watch the action, but I wasn't going to let those two dent up my car. I was about to stand up, when the guy started talking.

"Look man, I know what you're gonna say, just hear me out first."

"Talk fast." Vince said gruffly.

"I'm not interested in your girl. Back home, I was in that same situation, there was a beautiful girl, and I was just waiting for my shot. Then some douche bag shows up and snatches her right out from under me."

I was expecting Vince to slug the guy any second. After finally getting a good look at him, I realized he was just a kid, and seriously out-classed. Vince had at least twenty pounds on him.

"I don't want to be that guy who does it to someone else, I give you my word on that." He held out his hand for a shake, the kid definitely had balls.

Surprisingly, Vince actually took it. After all the guys he'd scared off, I just figured he didn't see this one as serious competition. It wasn't like Jesse hadn't made some moves before.

"Two guys did what?"

Damn, Dom was pissed at something, I waited a couple of minutes for the other two to get back in the house, before I followed in after them.

**:-:-:**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

"That's X- Alex," I told them. "He can be a peacemaker, or he can hold a grudge that will last _forever_. Believe me, I've seen both."

"We know that, he and Dirty have been at each others throats for months, since he caught the bastard smacking his girlfriend around." Letty stated.

That didn't surprise me at all. Alex would step up to help someone in need, regardless of his personal safety. No amount of arguments, or personal feelings between us, could make me think otherwise. "What _did_ happen with that anyway?"

**:-:-:**

**++Xander POV++**

**::Four Months Prior::**

_We'd come back to Edwin's place to party after the races. I'd just won my second in a row, so I had plenty of cash in my pocket, and Mindy on my arm. She wasn't the brightest girl on the planet, but she had unbelievable tits._

Amazingly, we found two open spots on a couch and sat down, eager to 'get to know each other'. I wasn't sure if she was just a digger, or too dumb to realize there were a lot better drivers in there then me, but I'd work it while it lasted.

Since I'd finally paid Dom off, the cash I'd won tonight was all mine. As we made out, I was trying to figure out what I could upgrade to get a little more speed out of my baby.

That's when the screaming started, it was almost inaudible with the music being as loud as it was. If we hadn't been sitting directly in front of the windows, I never would have noticed. Pulling back from Mindy, I could see a dude slapping a girl around on the front lawn.

"Why'd you stop?"

I didn't even bother to answer, I headed to the front door.

"Hey!"

Ignoring her, I made my way out the front door to find a girl on the ground holding her face, and crying. The guy was standing over her, screaming that she was a zorra, whatever the heck that was.

There were several people, on the front lawn just watching it happen, I was disgusted they hadn't done a damn thing to stop it. Walking up, I tapped the guy on the shoulder, he whirled around on me, in surprise.

It was that Sanchez guy. I'd seen him before, talking a whole bunch of shit at the races. "You wanna try that with me?"

He stared at me for a few seconds. "I know you, your Toretto's new punk." He said dismissively "Take a walk essa, you're outta your league here."

I nodded at the sobbing girl on the ground. "Like she is, tough guy?"

"Hey Toretto, come get your dog, or I put him down!"

Looking over my shoulder, I could see Dom and Leon standing in the doorway. Somebody must have told them what had happened. I waited for his yeah or no, he was the one that had brought me in after all.

If he did say no, I'd help the girl to a cab, and fight another day. Hopefully I wouldn't have to though.

"He takes care of his own business Dirty."

That's all I needed to hear, I turned back toward him, only to catch a punch to the left side of my jaw. That nickname of his had multiple uses. I shoved the bigger man back, giving myself some room to maneuver.

I grinned at him as the crowd was coming to life, shouting words of encouragement to me. Apparently, nobody liked this prick, even better, I'd taken a harder punches from Willow when we'd tried sparring in the library. "That the best you got mother fucker?"

He took another swing, which I easily ducked, and I planted a right into his stomach, doubling him over. As he gasped for air, I caught him again in the side of the head, knocking Sanchez to the ground on his back.

I quickly got down, and put my knee to his chest. Wrapping my left hand around his throat, I brought myself eye-to-eye with him. "You ever put your hands on another woman, and I'll make you wish you were dead."

With that said, I got back to my feet, and dusted my pants off. I could see the woman back on her feet, now surrounded by what I assumed were her friends. She'd be okay.

"I'm gonna own that matchbox car a yours boy, you just wait!" Sanchez was back on his feet, holding his bleeding head.

"If you're gonna sue me for everything I've got, I might as well get my money's worth." I told him, as I stalked toward him for round two.

"I'm not even gonna race it, I'm just gonna crush it and send you a video." He bragged, as he continued to back away from me.

"You do that, I'll press charges, you piche pendejo!" His now ex, screamed.

I stopped, we had him by the balls now. "What's it gonna be Dirty?"

**:-:-:**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

I laughed, as he finished his story. It was a little hard to separate Alex from the dork I'd known practically my whole life, but I liked the change in him. But it was still nice to see he wasn't completely different either.

"We're here." Alex announced shortly after, as he brought the car to a stop, before perfectly parallel parking.

As I pushed up the seat to let Mia out, I heard him curse.

"Shit, did we have to pick up anything, I don't want to show up empty-handed."

"Don't worry about it." Letty assured him, as she got out of the back seat on his side. "It's your party, remember? I got the boys to do all the shopping, made a list and everything for 'em."

He turned to look at Mia, across the roof of the car. "Should I be afraid?"

"Probably." She smirked at me. "Glad it's not _my_ party."

**A/N: If you guys have a chance, check out my much under-loved story 'The Spread'. It's C/X, but a lot darker then this.  
**

**END**


	6. Chapter Six

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

zTiamaTz

:-:-: - Denotes the beginning/end of a flashback.

**||0||**

**CHAPTER SIX**

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

As we headed up the driveway toward the backyard, I could smell a barbecue going. Since I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, it smelled absolutely wonderful.

We rounded the corner, and I saw four guys, from Alex's descriptions, I picked them all out easily. The guy at the grill had to be Mia's brother, he was freaking huge. The guy setting the picnic table was Jesse, and the two rough-housing to the side were Vince and Leon.

"We're back!" Mia called, as she went to help Jesse with the table.

Letty made a bee-line for Dom, he turned around, a barbecue fork in one hand, baster in the other, and let her reach up and pull him down for a kiss. It was pretty obvious she ran the show, and he was okay with it, damn she was lucky.

As Letty pulled back, I could see he was wearing a black and white checkered apron. In big red letters it said '_**RACE THE COOK**_'. It just didn't fit with everything I'd heard of the guy.

"You like the apron?" Alex asked in a low voice. "I got it for his birthday, he's too nice to say he hates it." A series of snickers followed.

"You are _evil_." I told him, as I tried not to laugh. The imposing man looked silly in that apron, only Alex could be _that_ cruel.

"Foods on, get a seat while you can!" Jesse called out.

Dom sat down in a lawn chair at the head of the table, as the others took chairs on either side.

Alex put an arm around me as we headed to the picnic table. "C'mon Cor, we gotta get there before those jackals eat it all."

Letty took the time to flip him the bird before sitting down directly to the right of her boyfriend. I was a little nervous around all of these new people, but what more did I have to lose?

**||0||**

We sat down at the table, with Alex opposite from Dom. To his right were myself, Mia, and Jesse. On his left were Vince, Leon, and Letty.

"Who's turn is it to say grace?" Dom asked.

I looked on, as Vince elbowed Leon in the side. Shortly after, Leon jumped, as it looked like Mia kicked him under the table. I was really starting to see why my ex liked these guys so much.

"I guess it's my turn." Leon said sheepishly. "God, thank you for bringing us together at this table, for the food, and the fact that that rich bastard will be breathing from a tube for the rest of his life.

A round of nods and agreements came, and then he continued.

"And finally, the Lord most definitely works in mysterious ways, to let Alex Harris have an ex as hot as she is." He ended it with a wink at me.

I giggled at that, even as Mia gave him another kick. Looking over at Alex, I saw him shaking his head, as Vince cheerfully slapped him on the shoulder.

After I was introduced to everyone, and vice-versa, we ate. There were questions, pleasant and neutral, but I figured that wouldn't last forever.

"So, what is it you do for a living?" Mia's brother asked.

"Up until yesterday, I worked for Angel Investigations, part secretary, part investigator. It was owned by a guy I knew back in Sunnydale. The case he was working on blew up in his face, his old flame showed up, and bad things happened. We-"

"Old flame?" Alex interrupted. "You don't mean B-"

"No, not _that_ one." I knew I had said too much. From dating him I knew how much he had hated Darla, and how angry he was that Angel had staked her before he could. The last thing I needed, was Alex scouring the city looking for revenge.

"It was just some random girl he met _years_ back." I hoped he took the freaking hint.

"So what happened between you and this guy?"

I shook my head. "He got pissed off because things went bad, and fired us. I was so angry that it happened, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I didn't even see that red car coming at me, until it was too late."

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

I couldn't believe she'd been working with _Angel_ of all 'people', and a private dick at that? At least he had it _half_ right. "What are you going to do now?" I asked her.

"I guess I'll just move back to Sunnydale, I have enough saved up to pay _maybe_ two months rent, and then I'm broke." She sighed. "This is what I get for thinking I actually had a chance to make it big in Hollywood."

This was not 'my' Cordy, the girl who'd kept it together even right after she lost all her money. If I hadn't run into her at that dress shop, I probably never would have known, she was that good.

I saw Letty trying to get my attention. She was rubbing her thumb back and forth over her index and middle fingers. She wanted to know why I hadn't given Cordelia the cash I'd won. I mouthed the words 'not now' at her, as I glanced around at the full table.

She must have got the message. "Why don't we start cleaning up guys." She said as she stood up.

Mia stopped Cordy with a hand on the shoulder, as she got up to help. "You're a guest, just relax."

Soon the table was clear, and it was just the two of us and Dom.

"I've set up an appointment for you tomorrow with that lawyer I know. He's helped us out before, so you can trust him."

"Just as long as it's clear that _he_ hit _me_. I don't want that guy's family trying to come and take what little I have left."

"His daddy is the VP of Healthy Foods Inc. They make millions on idiots who think they can lose weight from food in a box. The guy will do _anything_ to keep his name out of the papers."

"I _really_ hate lawyers, I've had some bad experiences with them. Besides, I don't have the money for something like that."

"Actually," I pulled the wad of cash from my pocket, and plopped it on the table in front of her. "You do."

"Where did you get this?"

"It's the money I would have won if I'd beat Sanchez." I gave her a smile. "If it weren't for you, I would have got destroyed."

"That's because you won't let me help you out." Dom interrupted. "You're a good driver, but you need the car to back those skills up."

I shook my head. "You've done plenty, if it weren't for you, I'd be flipping burgers at the Doublemeat Palace right now."

**:-:-:**

_Vince and I walked back into the kitchen after hearing Mia's brother find out what had happened. At this point, I was just glad Vince and I were able to settle things peacefully. I'd been there before, I wasn't gonna knock the guy for how he felt._

The party had quieted down, as the people listened to her story. I guess anybody who had a nice car wanted to hear this, since it could have happened to any of them.

"Then all of a sudden, the guys lookout went down, and I heard glass break. I looked over his shoulder, and there was Alex."

Dom looked over at me, and gave a nod of thanks. I returned it in kind, even as my face turned red. I really didn't want this kind of attention.

"The guy threatened to shoot him, if Alex didn't take off, but he called his bluff, and scared him off with the broken bottle and the threat of cops. It it weren't for him, I would have lost the car Dom."

"Naw Mia, you're more important then any car, even a nine second one." That got a laugh from the group, then he got serious. "You ever seen these guys before, at the races, or the store?"

"I'm pretty sure it was random." I interrupted. "It was a case of see nice car, steal nice car."

"Why's that?"

"Simple, neither of them had a weapon. Someone is a helluva lot more likely to give it up with the threat of one. Plus, they didn't bother to wear masks, who's dumb enough fuck with a guy like you?"

He grinned at that. "Guess you never met Johnny Tran." He turned, and tore open one of the cases of Corona. Pulling out two bottles, he quickly uncapped both with his shirt and handed me one.

"Thanks."

Dom gave a glance at Vince, who gave him a nod. "I owe you, for saving my sister, and my car. We're gonna see about getting yours back on the road."

**:-:-:**

**I recently finished up a story with another author, Starway Man. It's a dark fic called 'A Promise To Lie'. If you have the time, please check it out, and let us know what you think. Thanks.**

**||0||**

**END**


	7. Chapter Seven

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

**zTiamaTz**

**:-:-: - Denotes the beginning/end of a flashback.**

**||0||**

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

"So his car was so beat up, it wasn't worth keeping?" Cordelia asked.

Dom shook his head. "Nah, some engine work is one thing, we could do that in a day with the right parts. But what was the point, do all that and car still looks like crap?"

"Yeah, you remember how messed up that thing was. Especially after I hit that uh- wild dog."

Cordy nodded, she'd heard all about the Sisterhood of Jhe, and what had gone down that night. She'd heard a lot more then I wished she had though, any possible chance I'd had with her went out the window when Faith started throwing it in her face.

Dom on the other hand just gave us a look, I knew I'd said too much.

I would have liked to tell them about the nightlife, but I had a good thing going here. I got out of Sunnydale, because I had no future in demon hunting. There was an order to how things went there, and I was on the bottom. So why start that crap all over again?

"If it was such a piece of junk, how did you get anybody to buy it?"

**:-:-:**

_I sat on a stool as I watched Dom under the front of my car. The guy actually had my car towed to his garage on his own dime. Now, he was looking to see what, if anything we could do to fix it._

_Shortly after, he slid out on one of those wheeled things. Looking down at him, he had a grin on his face, I was hoping that was a good thing. "Is it fixable?"_

_"Yeah," He said, as he stood up, wiping his hands off with a rag. "Problem is, finding a tranny that's going to fit. It's not like they're just sitting around these days."_

_Great, this is what I got for trying to take a forty two year old car on a road trip. The damn thing was almost two and a half times my age. "So I should just junk it then?"_

_"Fuck no." He growled. "This thing's a classic."_

_I got up, and ran my hand along the car as I circled it, the thing was a mess. "It sure doesn't look like one."_

_"I'm gonna cut you a deal." He told me, as he leaned against the hood of the car. "I'll drop the tranny in, and you sell the car as a restoration."_

_"Who's gonna buy this piece of crap?"_

_"Some old man, with too much money on his hands. We're in LA, the city's full of 'em."_

_"What's the deal?"_

_"Whatever you get, you give me cost for the tranny, minus twenty percent."_

_I appreciated that he wanted to help me out, but I didn't see the point. "Why go through all the trouble of putting one in, if they're going to restore it anyway?"_

_Dom snorted. "Most of 'em just want it to run, they're more interested in making it look pretty. Plus, you could triple the sale value, no promises on that though."_

_I thought it over, the seven bucks an hour at Rhonda's was getting me nowhere. Eighty percent of something, was better then a hundred percent of nothing. Besides that, he was offering me a much better job in the mean time._

_Walking around to the front of the car, I nodded. "I just have one condition."_

_"What's that?" He asked with amusement._

_It was my moment of truth, I'd never really been good at anything in my life. This was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up. "Let me help you, I want to learn how to do this stuff."_

**:-:-:**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

"And you were a quick learner too, those fucking teachers of yours had their heads up their asses." Dom stated.

I knew that, I'd helped Xander make the bomb in the library. He'd hooked everything up with precision, he checked, and double-checked _everything_. Soldier memories or not, you still needed smarts to make that happen.

Even with his head ducked, I could see him blushing. The big dork _still_ didn't know how to take a compliment.

"Hey Harris, just because you got a guest, doesn't mean you can't do dishes!"

Looking over to the back door, I saw Letty standing there, twirling a dishcloth in her hand. I let out a giggle as Xander gave an exasperated sigh, and got up, slowly making his way toward the house.

"With you around, they're really laying it on him."

I smiled at that, trying not to look uncomfortable. Normally, I was a very outgoing person, and had no problem speaking my mind about anything. But these were Alex's friends, and I didn't want to come off as a bitch, like I was in high school.

**||0||**

"Yeah, but it's all in fun, he and I used to go at it for hours. In the end, it was what kept us together for as long as we were."

"He didn't say what happened between you guys, but I know he hasn't gotten over you."

I sighed, might as well get it over with. "We just-"

Dom held up his hand. "It's none of my business, or any of theirs either." He nodded toward the house.

"So why bring it up?"

"We're talking right now, because Mia and Letty like you. If they didn't, then _they'd_ be doing the talking."

It didn't take much to figure out what _that_ meant. "I'm a lot tougher then I look." I warned him.

"Good, there's too many girls out there that wanna stand next to the pretty car, or hang off the guy that pulls in the cash..."

That was it, I stood up, knocking the chair over and stalked toward him. Alex's friend or not, I wasn't going to take this crap. I glared down at him, and decided to let him have it.

"I don't care _who_ you are, I'm not some gold-digger. I didn't come _looking_ for Alex, in case it didn't get through your thick skull, _he_ found _me_."

Dom snorted, and took a sip of beer. "Damn, he wasn't kidding."

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Alex told me you were the last person on earth I'd want piss off." He gave me a smile. "I wanted to see what he was talking about."

"You-" I couldn't believe he'd set me up like that. "That dork is _so_ dead."

"Don't be too hard on him, we had this barbecue tonight to feel you out. Alex had a lot of balls to tell you the truth about what happened, we just wanted to make sure that wasn't a mistake."

"So what would have happened if I _didn't_ live up to your oh so high standards?"

"He'd have to make a choice." Dom told me with a shrug. "I love the kid like a little brother, but there's a lot of money to make in what we do."

**||0||**

Alex had handed me four thousand dollars like it was nothing to him. Obviously Dom wasn't joking about that fact, I was just wondering how far he was going to take it. "What do you want from me?"

"There's a lot of bullshitters out there, and usually the girls that speak their mind, are the one's that have nothing to say."

"Is there a _point_ somewhere in there?"

Dom chuckled at that. "You like him, you don't, that's up to you. You're gonna have to deal with the fact he isn't the same guy."

"I already figured that out _genius_." I snapped at him. "Alex is obviously doing better, now that he isn't under the thumb of those two bimbo's in Sunnydale."

"That doesn't sound so bad to me." He replied, before taking a sip of his Corona.

"_Fine_, if you don't mind spending your school years as a loser, simply because you have manipulative redhead leading you around with the 'poor me' routine. That dork could have been in the popular crowd if he'd bothered."

"This isn't a popularity contest," He told me, as he handed me another beer. "I _like_ loyalty, I know none of these guys are going to stab me in the back just to make a buck."

"So you're trying to find out if you can trust me, I guess you'll just have to figure it out on your own. _I_ trust Alex, _you_ and everybody else here are going to have to earn it."

"Is that right."

I nodded, letting that sink in. "Take it or leave it, that's the best you're going to get."

"As long as we understand each other."

"I think we do." I told him, before taking a long sip of Corona. It was actually pretty decent.

"Good, they should be done by now," He told me as he got up and headed toward the house. "I hope you're up for some naked Twister."

"W-what?"

"What I meant to say was; let's go see what Vince and Leon picked up from Blockbuster." He yelled over his shoulder.

Great, another wise-ass. Like _one_ in my life wasn't enough...

**||0||**

**END**


	8. Chapter Eight

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

zTiamaTz

A/N: Things are going to be a bit more supernatural this chapter, after this it'll be back to normal though.

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**00000**

**==Elsewhere==**

The bright lady smirked, as the Power's of this dimension's doors slammed shut behind her. Telling those blowhard's off, and calling them one-dimensional never got old, especially when it was _so_ true. It was even harder for them to say no, when she had The Voice backing her.

She'd come to this dimension at the perfect time. Their champion had fired his seer, thus making her need for the painful visions moot. With that argument, she'd had no problem forcing the self-important bastards to remove them.

Of course, she would have liked to be able to do this in every dimension, saving a young life from unending heartache. But it was impossible to be everywhere, let alone _when_, for that matter.

She walked toward the outer gates, and ignored the sneering guards, too happy with what she'd accomplished in such a short amount of time. A little detour down fourth street, a protective embrace from violent impact, a sudden harness malfunction...

Still, there was _one_ more thing the woman in white had to take care of before she left. It was a little thing called payback, and that was something she'd become _very_ good at as of late.

**00000**

**||Europe, Shortly After||**

Skip the demon, emissary for the fallen power, sat in the demon bar known as O Salao in Lisbon, Portugal. Busy catching up with old friends, he ignored the scuffle at the entrance. With so many demons, a few were bound to happen, most ending in a very messy death.

He gave it his full attention however, when the seven hundred pound Z'kor-sha bouncer was thrown into a wall next to the table he sat at, crushing his buddy Salazar, a Skilosh demon, like a bug. He couldn't help but think maybe Salazar should have grown some eyes in the _side_ of his head.

After turning angrily toward the offender, his silvery, chitinous hide lost some of it's luster. Standing by the entrance, was one of _them_. He didn't even want to know why she seemed to be looking directly at him.

"_Hello Skippy!_" She called out to him cheerfully, before glowing bright white and coming toward him. Any demons within a radius of the light pulled back with screams of pain and terror. She stopped a few feet from him, her glow subsiding.

"_I just had a little talk with the Powers that aren't. As of now, Cordelia Chase no longer has the visions._" The woman in white told him with what appeared to be a smirk in her blurry facial features. "_You and that bitch have lost._"

The big demon stood up angrily. "**You have no right to interfere with her destiny!**"

"_Oh, but 'you' do? Those little love-nudges on Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris? The slip onto the rebar? How about that oh so sudden IRS audit? Who's really interfering?_"

Skip stalked up to the woman, heedless of the damage she had been able to do to the much larger bouncer. "**Jasmine _will_ be reborn.**" He stared down at her menacingly, and attempted to grab a hold of her.

"_Really?_" Once again glowing brightly, stopping him in mid-motion. She then grabbed him by his chin ring, and brought him down face-to-face with her. He grunted in pain, but was unable to move on his own, the light had paralyzed him.

The other demons in the bar looked on in awe as the bright woman brought Skip to his knees effortlessly. His species was incredibly tough to begin with, let alone one that had been imbued by a Power, fallen or not.

"_You see, I usually don't resort to threats these days._" She announced, before let go of the ring, and grabbed Skip's horns in both hands. "_Buuut for a big, bad demon like you, I'm going to make an exception._" Leaning in, she whispered something in his ear.

The more daring bar patrons tried to lean in, but none could hear what she said.

Skip however, was easy to read. Absolute, stark terror played over his face. Before he had time to even utter a word, she twisted. Once, twice, three times... Finally his head ripped from his shoulders, and the body fell backward with a heavy thud.

She held it above her head, for the entire bar to see. The ichor that spilled from the neck landed on her dress, but dripped off without leaving so much as a mark.

"_Spread the word people, Jasmine's big comeback attempt is over!_" She called out, for all to hear. "_Anyone or 'thing' else want to take up her cause?_"

Silence reigned throughout the bar, not a peep was heard. None had any idea of what this possibly human female was capable of, and none wanted a demonstration of their own.

"_Well_?" She asked impatiently.

Soon after, the bright lady receiving a chorus of no's and grunts. Satisfied with their response, she tossed the head aside, and ignored the scream of pain from a vampire who'd caught a horn in the eye.

She left the bar without another word, a knowing smile on her face. Her job here was _done_.

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

Hanging out in Mia's living room, I suddenly felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Simply not having to worry about where my next acting job would be, what Wolfram & Hart were up to, or if Angelus would make another appearance, was a great thing.

That little tingle of pain that had been in the back of my head since the moment I'd kissed Doyle was gone. It was like I was suddenly free, somehow I _knew_ I didn't have them anymore.

After spending hours getting to know these people, the simple act of sitting down on the floor, and watching a movie together was fun. With Dom and mine's little talk over with, the mood amongst the group had noticeably eased, but that didn't mean I was in _just yet_.

I relaxed, and leaned back against Alex's legs, since he had taken a place on the couch behind me. It didn't take long for him to get his hands on my shoulders and start massaging. The man had magic fingers, after all of those hard cheer practices in high school, he'd get those hands on me and I'd be in heaven.

I couldn't believe how much he'd changed. He was confident, dressed nicely, and had people around him that treated him like family. What really got me though, was that he admitted he was involved in that race.

Alex could have told me he had witnessed the whole thing from the sidelines. Instead, he told me the _truth_. For all he knew, I could have freaked out and had him arrested, from the way he was acting at the hospital, he half-expected it.

I drained the last bit out of my beer, hoping I could get a hold of another. I had never been a beer drinker, always picturing rednecks when the subject came up. However, I had learned that these Corona's were even _better_ with limes in them.

While I wasn't drunk, I knew I was tipsy. With Alex here though, I knew I had nothing to worry about. I pushed myself further back against him, making him separate his knees, and giving him more leverage. With my neck right there, he started working on that next. I _never_ wanted this to end.

"Looks like somebodies having a good time."

I turned to see Letty, sitting on Dom's lap, a knowing look on her face. "You should give him a try some time, he knows how to work muscles you never knew _existed_." I told her with a smile.

"I'm glad to see I haven't lost my touch." Alex said, as he continued.

"Yeah, you just better watch what your touching." Dom warned him jokingly.

I snorted at that. He and Letty were so perfect together, _nobody_, could break those two up. Well, _they_ could, but I just couldn't see it happening.

Jesse stood up to head into the kitchen, so I pulled my legs in. You _never_ wanted to piss off the person who made the popcorn.

"Hey Jess, grab Cordy and me a couple of beers on the way back?"

"With limes." I added quickly. Maybe I would end up getting a little drunk, but at least it tasted good.

**||0||**

**Disclaimer: The Voice and Dogma are owned by Kevin Smith and Lions Gate Entertainment.**

**||0||**

**END**


	9. Chapter Nine

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

zTiamaTz

A/N: I've been surprised to learn how many people haven't seen any of the FatF movies, especially the first one. With that being the case, I decided to give some info about the team's cars.

I'm not going to get technical with stuff like engine modifications and the like, since I doubt most people really care. I do however feel the more information available, the better the story will be for the reader.

**||0||**

**CHAPTER NINE**

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

The night came to a close, and Alex agreed to give me a ride home. We left out the back door with his arm around me. I was a little unsteady on my feet, and feeling a serious buzz.

Even so, we stopped to admire the others' cars along the way. The first, was a blue car, darker then Alex's.

"This is Vince's, it's a Nissan Maxima."

I shook my head. "No it isn't," I insisted. "One of my girlfriends had one, it didn't look _anything_ like this."

"Rims, a body kit, and some graphics make a big difference, but that's nothing though, that's all to make it look good. All of the cars in this driveway are at _least_ ten second cars.

"Ten second cars?"

"They can go a quarter-mile in ten seconds, that's what it takes to be competitive in this city. Anything less is just gravy."

Next was a yellow car, it didn't look like one I'd seen before, it had some kind of knight on the side, with a sword that went through tire and on to the bumper. Then I got a closer look, and realized the steering wheel was on the wrong side of the car.

"Yeah, I thought that was weird the first time I saw that too." Alex told me. "That's a Nissan Skyline, they don't even make them for America. Leon was damn lucky to get his hands on one.

After that was a white four-door with light blue streaks down the sides. I really liked the color combination, especially with the white wheel rims.

"That's Jesse's VW Jetta." Alex explained. "Actually, it's his old man's, but he's doing a nickle in LA County for running a meth lab.

"_This_ is a Volkswagen?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I know. But Jesse's a genius when it comes to engines, there's been more then a few guys that got burned for underestimating it."

Next was a maroon car with a yellow stripe that went down the sides of the car, before turning to flames just before the back tire.

"This is Letty's Nissan 240SX, there's nothing funnier then seeing some asshole think they can burn her, just because she's got a set of boobs. She's made a _ton_ of cash that way.

Finally, there was a red car, with gray splatters all over it. There was some kind of robotic thing on each door that shot the gray stuff out of the back.

"That's Dom's Mazda RX7, as far as I'm concerned, this is the fastest, self-rebuilt car in LA." He told me proudly.

"What does that mean?"

"There are bound to be cars that are faster, but all of those are either old-school muscle, or exotics like a Viper, or Lamborghini. This car was rebuilt from the ground up by _them_," He told me, motioning toward the house. "Those rich boys can't touch that."

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

"What about yours?" She asked as we got to my Accord.

"I do okay," I told her with a shrug. "It's a second-hand car really. Dom offered to help get something better, but he's done a lot for me already, I couldn't take it from him."

"If you won these races you keep talking about, wouldn't it be easier _and_ faster just to pay him back?" Cordelia asked, as she ran her hand along the roof of the car, mostly to keep her balance.

"Maybe, but I'm not that good. Besides, I don't want to gamble with other people's money..."

"That's not what Dom said."

"Dom would drink my lemonade and tell me it tasted good, even if he watched me piss in it first. He's just _that_ good a friend." I insisted, as I got into the drivers seat.

Cordy jumped into the passenger seat, continuing the argument. "Jeez _Xander_, I didn't realize we were back in high school. What happened to the confident guy that took me to a picnic dinner, and gave me a nice massage earlier?"

"Don't forget your seat belt." I told her, trying to avoid an argument.

"Don't try to change the subject." She snarked back, as I took off down the street. "Honestly, where did that guy I woke up to last night in the hospital go?"

I turned to her, trying not to get angry. "Dom and the rest of them got where they are because they're the best at it. They _worked_ for what they got, and they deserve it. How does it look if I just come along and take a handout?"

"You're too hard on yourself, I know your parents were horrible, but these people are like a family to you. _Don't_ screw it up."

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

I couldn't believe how dense Alex was. He had the closest thing to family without being related. I _thought_ I had that with Angel and the others, but that once again blew up in my face, just like my time with the slayer gang.

"How couldn't I screw it up, you made it perfectly clear that's all I was good at during senior year." He shot back at me.

"You said it yourself, _senior year_. Don't tell me you still haven't gotten over that, I was angry over you kissing Willow, and I had every right to be."

Xander stopped at a light, and was about to respond, when another car pulled up next to us, revving it's engine. I looked over, and saw it was yellow with purple highlights, _yuck_.

The driver was some white guy about our age, he had two other guys in the car with him. He was trying to get me to roll the window down. "I take it, that he isn't a friend of yours?" I asked Alex.

He gave me a look. "Let's see what this guy wants." He powered the window down, and we were assaulted by a tidal wave of bad ebonics.

After unhooking myself from the three-piece seat belt, I leaned out the window, so that he could understand me clearly. "Hey _idiot_, if you can't speak English, shut the hell up."

"Chill back baby, we just wanted to see if yo boyfriend wanted a race." His buddies gave each other a high five.

I turned back to Alex, and saw him shaking his head in disgust. "What do you think?"

"That Lexus has a fancy paint job, but he's got nothing else."

I thought about it for a few seconds, we could _so_ win this.

"Cor, the light's green."

"Meet us at the next red light." I called out to the other car.

**||0||**

"Are you sure about this?" Alex asked, when we finally caught a red light.

"The street look empty to me." I told him as the other car pulled up. "How much have you got?" I asked the guy.

"Huh?"

Idiot. "You wanted to race, whats it worth to you?"

"How 'bout a night wit you?" His friends seemed to find that hilarious.

I felt Alex put the car into park. "I'm going to-"

"Wait," I ordered, grabbing his arm. I wanted to get out and strangle this creep too, but that wasn't going to help. "I've got a better idea."

"It better be." He replied angrily.

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out the wad of cash Alex had given me. "I've got four grand here that says _my_ guy will leave _your_ ass in the dust."

The idiot paled, he hadn't been expecting this. "I don't got that kinda money."

Alex snorted. "Big surprise."

"Well maybe your buddies will give you a loan, because _right now_, you're wasting our time."

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

This guy had given his car a paint job, and suddenly decided he was a racer, I hated these dumb pricks. On top of that, he insults Cordy, and doesn't even have any money on him?

All I wanted to do, was get out of the car, and use his face to add some red to that color scheme. I didn't care if he _was_ a Lakers fan, it looked like shit. On the bright side, if I couldn't beat the hell out of him, having Queen C tear tear him a new asshole was the next best thing.

I could hear arguing in the next car, she'd really put that guy on the spot, and now he was paying for it. "The lights gonna be green soon Cor."

Normally, I wouldn't waste my time with posers like these, but if she was excited about it, I'd make it happen for her. I just hoped her enthusiasm wasn't simply caused by all the beer she drank.

"We got two hundred forty six dollars." The idiot said sheepishly.

She looked back at me, and I gave her a nod.

"There's no traffic behind us, so the next time the light turns green, we go. The finish line is that Jack in the Box sign, got it?"

The big red sign, one of the few places still open this late, was easy to see. It was a little more then a quarter-mile, but no big deal.

"Yeah, I'm ready." He replied, trying to sound confident.

"_Good_." She told them icily, before pulling back in, and refastening the three-point harness.

Turning to me, Cordy had an angry look on her face. "Kick his ass." She ordered.

**||0||**

**END**


	10. Chapter Ten

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

zTiamaTz

**||0||**

**CHAPTER TEN**

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

As we waited for the light again, I could hear the other car's engine rev. I guessed the guy's buddies were trying to give him a pep talk, he was going to need it.

I brought Cordy's window back up to reduce wind resistance, it wouldn't make much of a difference, but I wanted to shred these guys. I looked up as the lights turned yellow in the other direction, it would be any second now. "You ready for this Cor?"

Before she could answer, I saw green, and hit the gas. He was a second or two behind me already. Before long, I was smoothly switching to second, as he continued to try and catch up. You could put paint and stickers on shit, but it wouldn't go down the toilet any faster.

"Are they not even _trying_?" Cordelia asked, as we closed in on the finish line.

I ignored her, as I kept my eyes straight ahead. With the streets not blocked off, it only took a second of distraction for something bad to happen.

By third gear, it was over, _four_ car lengths. Shortly after, we came to an easy stop at the light immediately after the Jack sign. I was surprised when they actually pulled up next to us, since I was almost positive they'd take off. Chasing them down would have been funner.

As Cordy leaned out the window, and collected our money, I decided to throw them a bone. "You guys show up at a race, they're gonna eat you alive. You go to Little Korea, they'll probably shoot you."

I wasn't sure what was worse, the driver whining because he thought I had threatened him, or his buddies complaining that they lost their money.

Having heard enough of their bullshit, I took off. They were lucky I even gave them that much...

**||0||**

"Did you really need to threaten them like that?" Cordy asked. "They _did_ pay us the money."

"I was doing them a favor, what I said was true."

"Oh come on, people don't get shot because they have crappy looking cars."

"Johnny Tran is a psycho Cor, pure and simple. He cut a guy's thumbs off with a katana, because the guy accidentally rear-ended him in traffic."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"Everybody does, it's common knowledge. When you go to the races, if you're not racing, your talking. Whether it's shit or otherwise, everything makes the rounds."

"So why hasn't anyone gone to the cops if this guy is so dangerous?"

"All most of us have is a crew, a car, and a rep. Lose that last one, and everything crumbles around you."

"What if I-"

"Don't even _think_ about it, that's the worst idea you've ever had."

"But-"

"Cordelia, I get that you want to help, but you're not. _One_, you never even met the guy. _Two_, he'd probably try to have someone kill you for it. And _three_, you're already connected to us, so all you'd be doing is blacklisting me, Letty, Dom, and everyone else from here to Vegas.

After driving for another fifteen minutes in silence, we came to a stop outside the address she'd given me. I was really surprised how nice it was. "We're here." I announced flatly.

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

I knew I had annoyed him with my idea, but I was still so wrapped up in 'we help the hopeless', that I forgot that wasn't my job anymore. Considering my visions were gone, we were officially out of business.

On the bright side, I'd had more fun today, then I could remember for quite some time. I really didn't want it to end on such a sour note.

"Hey Al," I told him with a smirk. "It's late, do you want to just crash on my couch?"

He gave me a surprised look. "You sure?"

I guessed since he'd just told me off, he thought I'd be angry with him. Of course I _could_ be, but what would be the point? "Yes, but you'll have to be nice to my roommate." I couldn't wait to see his reaction to Dennis.

"I didn't know you had one," He told me as, pulled the car into a space. "You could have at least given her a heads up, she's got to be worried sick about you..."

"_He_ probably is, but he's not big on phones."

We got to the front door, and I turned the key, expecting a fight like I always did when I brought a guy to the house. Instead, the door opened with ease. "That's weird."

"What?"

"He usually puts up more of a fight."

"Who?" He asked, as he stepped into the apartment, shutting the door behind him.

"My roommate, he's really picky about the company when it comes to guys." I explained, as I bent down to finally take off my shoes. Looking good, and feeling good were two _entirely_ different things.

"Cor," Alex said, as he grabbed my shoulder, and pushed me behind him. "I think we need to leave."

This was getting fun, I wanted to see how long I could keep this going. "We just got here, and I'm tired."

"There's a floating sign coming toward us that says '_**Hello**_'."

"Very funny, you might have had me _if_ we were still in Sunnydale."

"Wait a sec, you've got a freaking ghost for a roommate?"

I knew he wasn't going to be fooled for long, but it had been amusing while it lasted. "Yeah, Dennis came with the package, plus the rent was super low because of it."

Alex nodded. "No offense, but I was wondering how you managed to get a place this nice."

"I wanted to see how you'd react, the last guy I brought here ran out screaming, plus he left a pee stain on the floor." I told him, sticking my tongue out.

The white board floated up to him, and Alex took it in his hand. "Thanks Dennis, it's nice to meet you."

"I keep the board, and some markers around for him. Before that, we communicated by flipping the light switch. I thought this was a lot better though."

"That's a good idea, and hey, as long as he's friendly, I can deal."

I smiled at that, it was hard bringing _anybody_ back here because of Dennis. I'd made it clear to him though, that it wasn't his fault. "Let me get you some pillows and a blanket, we'll talk more tomorrow."

**||0||**

I woke up in my bed to the smell of something wonderful. At first, I wondered when Dennis decided to try cooking, and then I remembered Xan- no, _Alex_, had stayed on my couch.

After throwing on a robe, I came out to the kitchen, to find him working diligently to get breakfast ready.

"Morning Cor, coffee's done, and I've got bacon and eggs on the way. I hope you like 'em scrambled."

"That's fine." I couldn't care less at the moment. He was standing there over the stove, shirtless and yummy. The shower wand was definitely going to get some extra use today.

I grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat down at my small kitchenette. Shortly after, breakfast was served, and it was delicious.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?"

He shrugged. "I started cooking when I was a kid, it wasn't that good, but it was edible. Mia showed me some stuff though, and that's why it tastes as great as it does."

"You're lucky, you have all of these people that care about you..."

"Cor, they like you too." He said evenly. "When they were talking about how they couldn't believe you were my ex, they weren't joking."

"It seems like you're doing okay, I remember Letty saying you had dated 'all those girls'."

Alex snorted at that. "I've gone out with a few, but none of them really worked out. They just weren't what I was looking for."

I knew how that felt, my track record was less then stellar since I came to LA. At least _he_ hadn't been impregnated with Haxil demon spawn.

"What did you think about last night?"

I thought about it for a second. Those moron's had been _so_ asking for it, plus, we'd made almost two hundred and fifty dollars in less then five minutes. But I did feel bad after what had happened to me, what if something like that had happened to someone else?

"Fun, but a little dangerous, don't you think?"

"That's the point," He told me with a grin. "Besides, the roads were clear at that time anyway."

"What about when my Jeep got totaled?" I asked, not liking his answer. "The streets weren't clear _then_."

"_Every_ street is supposed to be blocked, we all rotate that job. You think we _want_ that kind of shit?" He asked in exasperation. "That just brings more problems then it's worth."

"So how did it happen?"

"This dude Timmy, he decided he'd rather smoke a bowl with some jail bait. That fucking _idiot_, by now his CR-X is in pieces."

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

She looked shocked. "They cut his car up?"

"Hey, the only reason you got hit, was because he wasn't where he should have been. Remember that."

"I'm not defending him, but-"

I held up a hand to stop her, I had been afraid of this. "Cor, you need to understand, what we do is _illegal_. We're not out there murdering people or anything, but we _don't_ like cops."

"But you can't just _do_ that..."

"How are we supposed to deal with people who mess up like that, huh? Drag him into some alley and beat him down, or maybe put a bullet in his head?"

"The guy's car is in _pieces_." She reiterated.

"And your Jeep is an accordion. Maybe next time, people will take their responsibilities a little more seriously."

"You make it sound like the mafia..."

"Fine, Timmy's CR-X sleeps with the fishes, does that work for you?" I asked sarcastically.

"They're dumping it in the ocean too?" Cordelia asked, confused.

It took me a second, then I realized she had no idea what I was talking about. I started to cough, since now wasn't the time to laugh.

"Look, okay, what we do is a lot of fun, but it can also be really dangerous." I pulled out my wallet and laid ten twenties, and two fifties, along with a business card down on the table.

"What's that for?"

"That's money for cab fare, and the card to the lawyer Dom told you about. The appointment's at four."

I got up to grab my shirt and boots from the couch. It was time for me to go, whether I liked it or not.

"Wait," She grabbed my arm. "You aren't taking me?"

"No, I'm not." I reached down to pick up my shirt, causing her to let go. After pulling it on, I sat down, and looked up at her. She had this look on her face, like I'd just stabbed her in the back.

I held out my hand, and she took it, sitting down next to me. "I'm really happy to have you back in my life Cor, more then you know. But I want you to take some time to think if this is what you really want."

"Alex I-"

I shushed her. "I don't want the answer now, go see the lawyer, and think it over." I tied up my boots, and gave her a quick hug, before heading for the door.

"I left my cell number on your bulletin board, there's a race two days from now. If you're still interested, give me a call."

"Why are you being like this?" She asked as I opened the door.

"Because I already messed things up with you once, I'm _not_ going to do it again." With that said, I left, hoping for the best.

**||0||**

**END**


	11. Chapter Eleven

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

**zTiamaTz**

**A/N: This, and the next chapter are to tie up loose ends before moving forward.**

**||0||**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**||0||**

**~~Cordelia POV~~**

A box of tissues came floating over to me as I sat on the couch crying. I knew how much it hurt Xander after what happened between us in high school. I had treated him like complete crap, and he'd never tried to say I was wrong for the way I felt.

Now, like he said, I had to figure things out. What he, and his friends did was dangerous, he didn't quibble when it came to that fact. He obviously wanted me around, but he wanted to make sure it was _my_ decision.

I appreciated what he was trying to do, but it didn't make it hurt any less. After being tossed aside by Angel for that skanky _ho_, the rejection, even as mild as it was, just made me finally break down.

I was picturing a nice, long bubble bath, followed by comfy PJ's and vanilla bean ice cream. Maybe even a Julia Roberts movie to top it off. After dabbing the last of my tears, I was ready to head to the bathroom, when the phone rang.

Before I could even stand up, the phone was already coming out to me. I smiled at that, it was nice to see at least _one_ man stuck around. "Thank you Dennis." Taking the phone, I saw it was Wesley.

I found out he and Gunn wanted to meet up at Caritas, he even said he'd pick me up. It was better then moping around the house, and having to exercise all of that ice cream off. Heading to the bathroom, I decided to just grab a quick shower, and wear something simple for a change.

**||0||**

We found Gunn at a table cringing, as a trio of vampires _badly_ mangled Bruce Springsteen's '_Born in the U.S.A._'. I'd seen a Naga screech out a song better then those three.

"What took you guy's so long?" Gunn questioned, as we took a seat at the table.

"Cordelia needed a ride, and I obliged her." He replied, looking at me pointedly.

Wes had asked where my Jeep was, and about the bandage on my head, but I'd put him off. I didn't see the point of having to tell the story again, once we got here.

"I was in an accident on the way home from the office, my Jeep was totaled." I told them simply.

"Why didn't you call us?"

"It's pretty funny actually, Wes, you remember Xander?"

He nodded. "The young man you dated in high school... I remember he was _less_ then pleased with my presence on the Hellmouth."

"You've changed a lot since then." I assured him, meaning every word. "You pulled the stick out of your butt, and I think you're just as good as Giles now."

Wes gave a small smile. "Thank you Cordelia, I-"

We were interrupted by one of the waiters, come to take our drink orders. They both got beers, and instead of my usual Apple-tini, I ordered a Corona.

I saw them both staring at me. "_What_, I can't try something different?"

Gunn snorted. "So what were you saying about your ex?"

"He was on a contact list from high school, somehow, they got his LA number and he was who I woke up to."

I didn't want to tell them Alex's _actual_ involvement. Gunn was especially protective of me, since poor Alanna had been vamped. Usually, I'd be annoyed by someone doing that, but not in his case, I just couldn't.

"Why didn't you call us?"

I sighed. "I- we'd all just been fired, you guys had your own problems, besides, he took good care of me."

"He better have." Gunn growled, before dropping a twenty on the platter that had brought our beers.

This was _not_ how I wanted things to go. "Wes..." I looked at him pleadingly.

"Xander Harris is many things," Wes assured him. "But from what I know of the young man, he would sooner slit his own throat, then let Cordelia, or for that matter, _any_ woman, come to harm."

Gunn nodded at that. "Coming from you English, that's good enough for me."

"There's something else you guys need to know."

"You aren't pregnant again, are you?"

"Or suddenly grown a third eye again, right?"

I stared at the two of them, wondering where _that_ had come from. Then I saw the mischievous looks on their faces. "_Very funny_, I was going to tell you guys that I don't have the visions anymore."

"What?"

"Are you be certain?"

Each had shock on their faces, it wasn't surprising considering how fast everything had happened.

"Ever since I got them from Doyle, there's been this little pain in the back of my head. Not real bad, like after a vision, but still there. Last night, it was just _gone_, and I suddenly felt free."

**||0||**

"It is entirely possible, that when Angel fired us, the Powers saw no reason for you to continue on as his seer." Wes theorized.

"Makes sense to me." Gunn added with a shrug.

"Hey kiddos," Lorne greeted, as he walked up to our table. "What's with the sour faces?"

"Angel fired us," I explained to him sullenly. "Then the Powers took away my visions last night."

"Well sugarplum, why don't you sing me a tune, maybe I can help you out?"

I glanced at the stage, where a big, hairy _something_ was mauling the words to '_Hotel California_'. There was no way I was going to get up there, and make a fool of myself.

He must have noticed my trepidation. "No need to get on stage, a little ditty at the table will do just fine."

I looked over to Wes and Gunn, both were snickering at my dilemma. "Fine." I belted out '_Row, row, row, your boat_' as quickly as possible.

"Whoa,' He said shakily, before taking the empty seat next to me. "Honey, whatever your destiny _was_, forget about it. You've got a clean slate from here on out."

"What does that _mean_ exactly?" Gunn asked with concern.

"It means," Lorne started, as he waved at his face. "That she's pretty much free to do anything she wants. Whatever was hanging over her head is long gone."

"And what exactly _was_ hanging over my head?"

"Frankly, I have no idea, unless some Power decides to come down and fill you in, I doubt any of us ever will. What I _can_ tell you though, is that he _does_ still love you."

"I know." I whispered. Of course I _knew_, but it was nice to hear someone confirm it for me.

"I've got to warn you though sweet pea, you're going to have to make a choice when it comes to him, and there could be serious consequences."

I nodded at that. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"That's not something I can help you with." He gave me a sad smile.

"Thank you." I told him, before pulling him in for a hug.

"Sorry to cut and run sweet cheeks, but that Horbaak just finished up, and he's going to want to know if his new spawn is going to be a male or not."

"Well, that idea is shot." Gunn muttered.

I looked back to them, wondering what they were talking about. "What idea?"

"Gunn and I were considering opening an agency of our own, with you of course." Wes explained. "Unfortunately, with your lack of visions..." He trailed off.

I rotated my Corona back and forth between my fingers, watching the lime swirl around in the beer. What was the point of me continuing to do this, my main job had always been vision girl. Even _Alex_ had gotten out, and I had been _so_ sure he was going to be a lifer.

"I'm sorry guys. I'm not sure _what_ I'm going to do, but I just can't keep this up anymore."

"To be completely honest Cordelia, I'm actually pleased with this turn of events." Wes replied.

I looked up at him in surprise, we had just been talking about opening our own supernatural detective agency, and he was _pleased_ with this?

"How exactly his that a _good_ thing Wes?" Gunn asked, beating me to the punch.

"Simply put, Cordelia receiving those visions never should have happened." He raised a hand before either of us could interrupt. "While Cordelia's efforts here, and in Sunnydale were exemplary, drafting her, as the Powers did was inexcusable."

He was right, I knew he was, but that didn't make me feel any better. After everything we'd been through, it looked like it was all over. "So, what are you guys going to do now?"

**||0||**

"I've been offered a new position with the Council by an old school chum." Wes explained. "He apparently was sent to Los Angeles in order to determine that I wasn't aiding Angel in any _unsavory_ activities that could threaten the council."

"Those bastards, how could they-"

He shook his head. "My circumstances, and Giles' defection are unheard of. I would have actually been more surprised if they _hadn't_ done such a thing. Also, I've known Edward Kuratowski for most of my life, I consider him trustworthy."

"You sure Wes? A guy sneaking around like that ain't exactly what I'd call friendly."

Wes smiled. "I appreciate your concern, both of you are like family to me. But there comes a time when we must follow our own paths. Edward informed me that there is a young potential slayer, Violet, in New Jersey. The Council has hopes that I can help in training her."

It was about time those idiots in the Council acknowledged all the _good_ things he'd done. Sure he'd made mistakes with Faith, but as far as I was concerned, he'd more then made up for them since then.

"How about you Gunn?"

"Saved a girl from some vamps behind one of those clubs off the Boulevard a couple weeks back. I took her home, and it turns out her dad is some security consultant. He offered me a job since I knew all about the nightlife."

"That's why I saw you in that suit last week, isn't it?" I asked in surprise, I'd had no idea he was doing that now.

"Yeah, I've been working to get some of the guys jobs too." He grinned widely. "Bob is real impressed with the work too, security instances are down forty three percent. And that's just with me there _part_ time."

As I sat back in my chair, seeing the two laugh and joke with each other, I knew I'd miss this. I was happy for both of them, they both deserved it. But now, I really needed to consider what _I_ was going to do.

**||0||**

Finally sinking down into my bubble bath, I couldn't help but think about what an insane day this had turned out to be. Alex's talk, Gunn and Wes' moving on, the whole thing with the lawyer...

After leaving Caritas, I'd caught a cab to his office. Being early, I ended doing some window shopping, before finally going in to meet him.

Howard Brown, Esquire, was definitely _not_ the type of lawyer Daddy used to play golf with at the Sunnydale country club. His office was located in a strip mall, and his suit was off the rack.

Still, he knew what he was talking about. He didn't do the usual mumbo-jumbo that the average lawyer would bring out to try and impress people. I could see why Dom had suggested him.

Howard had laid it out plainly for me. We could _reasonably_ ask for a hundred thousand dollar settlement. Anything over that, and Sanchez's father was liable to tell us to take him to court.

With his ten percent fee, and after taxes, I'd have roughly seventy five thousand left. That still didn't make me rich again, but at least I wouldn't have to crawl back to Sunnydale.

No matter what I decided in regards to Alex, I could get a new car, and not have to worry about rent for a couple of years. Knowing him, he probably set it up this way.

**||0||**

Next week, Wes would be leaving, the three of us had decided we'd go out a few times before then. I wasn't sure where exactly, it would be no fun just hitting Caritas all the time, but we'd think of something.

Wes had come a long way from the doormat he'd been in the Dale. Being out from under the Council's thumb had shown him how the real world worked. Now, I pitied any Watcher who tried to underestimate him.

Gunn was the same story, but an entirely different page. Before he'd come to Angel Investigations, he'd never had a steady job in his life. Not by choice of course, just the situation he'd been forced into.

Now, he'd be helping to run security for one of the biggest firms in LA. Considering all the crap he'd been through in his life, I couldn't be prouder of him. And big plus, I'd still get to see him.

**||0||**

Now onto the very last thing on the list, I wasn't sure what to think. I liked Alex, actually, I probably still loved the big loser. These days though, he was into some bad stuff.

I'd dated enough the 'bad' boys back in high school to know that _none_ of them really were. Watching the nose-tackle of the Razorbacks wet himself, and gibber like a little girl over a _single_ vampire had more then proven that.

The difference here, was that Alex wasn't a braggart about the whole thing. He admitted it was something he simply did to make money. And _I_ had to admit the race we'd been in was fun.

I still had two days to make up my mind, and right now, I just wanted to soak.

**||0||**

**Disclaimer: The song '_Born in the U.S.A._' is owned by Bruce Springsteen, and Columbia Records.**

**Disclaimer 2: The song "_Hotel California_' is owned by The Eagles, and Asylum Records.**

**||0||**

**A/N 2: The song '_Row, row, row, your boat_' is not an owned, intellectual property.**

**||0||**

**END**


	12. Chapter Twelve

**He's Fast, She's Furious**

**zTiamaTz**

**A/N: This takes place immediately after chapter ten.**

**||0||**

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

**||0||**

**++Xander POV++**

I drove toward the garage feeling like shit, the hard rain wasn't improving my mood either. In high school, I'd always prided myself with getting one over on Queen C, and the feeling had been mutual. There was no pride this time, instead of insults, I'd just laid out cold, hard facts.

I was really hoping she'd take me up on the offer, but after that accident, I couldn't blame her if she didn't. While what we did _was_ a lot of fun, we still needed to take care of business to make that happen. That was something she'd have to decide if she could live with.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the ringing of my cell. Checking the number, I saw it was Dom, no surprise there. He'd want to know how things had gone, and where the hell I was. "Yeah."

**:**_Where are you right now?_**:**

"On my way man." I assured him. "Sorry I'm running late, I crashed at her place and ended up cooking breakfast."

He chuckled. **:**_Get lucky?_**:**

"Nah, slept on the couch. Even if she _was_ in the mood last night, I wouldn't have gone for it, she was freaking _lit_."

**:**_Good man._**:** Dom was real big on the respect for ladies. He'd had a guy in his crew a year or so before I joined, he found out the creep had been using that date rape drug on girls at house parties. The dude ended up in traction for six months.

"What can I say, I'm a gentleman."

**:**_You lay it out for her?_**:**

"Yeah, I'm not sure if she's gonna go for it. We were in a race last night, she seemed pretty into it then, but this morning, I just don't know..."

**:**_Who the hell were you racing at two AM on a Wednesday?_**:**

"Some dumb-ass pulled up to us at a light in an IS 300, had it painted up in Lakers colors." I snorted at the memory. "He was talking ghetto trash, and Cor got pissed, and insisted I race the guy. Bright side, we ended up making two bucks and change off them."

**:**_Only two hundred?_**:** He questioned.

"They probably had the rest on daddy's credit cards, besides, it's cab fare for her until we can get her something new."

**:**_Okay, just don't make it a habit._**:**

I understood that. Not only did the chances of running into cops increase, but we also didn't want just any loser thinking he was entitled to a race. "No problem, if it weren't for her, I would've ignored all three of them."

**:**_How close are you to the garage right now?_**:**

"Five minutes out, you need me to pick up some coffee or something?"

**:**_Find a phone, and call number seventeen, Leon's waiting._**:**

"One quick thing."

**:**_Yeah?_**:**

"Next time Vince goes to Blockbuster, tell 'em to pick up The Godfather."

**:**_You got it._**:** Dom replied with amusement.

"Later." With that, I flipped the phone closed, and took a right. There was a pay phone not too far from where I was at.

**||0||**

Getting to the phone ten minutes later, I got the index card out of my wallet that had all the numbers on it. We had them for payphones all over the city, each was numbered one through thirty. When we wanted to make anonymous calls, that was the easiest way to do it.

Leon picked up on the fifth ring. **:**_Yeah, I'm here._**:**

"What took you so long?"

**:**_Was taking a leak..._**:** He replied sheepishly. **:**_Meet me at the warehouse to pick up the Civic, we've got a hot one._**:**

"Tell me we've got something decent for a change." I was sick of Taurus' and Corolla's all the time.

**:**_Yeah, it's a Benz SLK, even got a key for it._**:**

I let out a low whistle. "I'll be there in twenty, try to hold it till I get there."

**:**_Fuck_-**:**

I hung up the phone with a smirk, today was looking a little better. Still, I couldn't get Cordy off my mind.

**||0||**

The door opened as I pulled up, after waiting a few seconds, I drove in to an open space on the left side. I looked through the windows, trying to spot Leon. He was nowhere in sight, and I knew _something_ was coming.

I finally stepped out of the car. "Don't even _think_ about it." I warned, as I shut the door.

Suddenly, hands wrapped around my ankles, and I barely had enough time to break my fall. As I tried to figure out what happened, my car started laughing at me. Looking back, beneath my car, I could see Leon pulling himself out from under it. Sneaky bastard.

I got to my feet, and knocked the dust off as best I could. With the rain outside though, my wet jacket ended up having streaks of mud. Glaring over the roof of my car, I could see him grinning at me.

"Sorry, couldn't hold it." He tossed me the keys to the Civic. "C'mon, you can bitch on the way."

The car was was a 94' with a jet black paint job, and just-legal window tint. To top it off, there was neon green lighting coming from under the chassis. The lights were a genius touch on Jesse's part. People were so unused to such a thing on a car, most were distracted by it.

"You better watch your back man." I warned him, as we got into the car.

"We'll see."

As he gave me directions, I could that smug look on his face. My mind was made up, he was gonna get it.

**||0||**

After circling around the block twice, I pulled into a parking spot around the corner from our target. I blew out a long breath and shook off the nervousness. I wasn't feeling it for me, but him.

I checked the blond, mullet wig in the mirror. Though the Civic's windows were tinted, it never hurt to throw off a possible description.

"You want me to pick you up some lipstick to go with your hairdo?"

I snorted, no matter _who_ was along I always got shit for the thing. One time, Letty had even stuck a dress in the trunk next to the wig. "Fuck you man."

Leon, out of all of them was probably my closest friend. When I'd asked Dom to teach me how to work on cars, he'd obliged. But on the day-to-day stuff, I was under Leon's wing.

We'd ended up having a lot in common, and he definitely knew me the best out of everyone. And like me, he was just another stray that got sucked up into the Toretto crew.

On our way from the warehouse, I'd told him how things had gone with Cordy. He knew how hung up I was on her, and he'd told me I'd done the right thing. Moral support was all I had to go on right now.

Looking over at him, I saw him pulling on surgical gloves, followed by leather one's. There was no such thing as _too_ careful. "You got the key?"

"Yeah," He said, as he pulled the hood over his head, and stuck a pair of sunglasses on. "Gimme five and we'll be good to go." With that, he was out of the car, and heading down the sidewalk.

**||0||**

We only did this during the day when it rained. People kept their heads down, or had umbrellas obstructing their views. Plus, nobody thought twice about seeing someone with a hood up over their head.

I would have preferred doing this at night, but the owner lived in a gated community. All that money wasn't gonna help him though. All we needed to get a copy of a key was the name of the dealership.

Considering they were almost always conveniently available on the back of the car, it wasn't hard to find some weasel who worked there looking to make a buck. Add to the fact he could tell us if they had a Lojack installed, and where it was located, things got even easier.

Dom had put out a nice chunk of cash to buy a scanner that detected the things. It wasn't much of a decision after seeing how easy they were to track and find on the companies home page.

**:**_I'm in._**:**

"On my way." I left my parking spot and headed to the corner. This had gone a lot smoother then I had expected. Then again, I _never_ expected them to.

**||0||**

I turned the corner, and could see the Benz five cars up from me. People were walking up and down the sidewalk without a clue about what was going on.

**:**_We're good to go!_**:** Leon called, as he started to work his way out of the space.

I stayed a couple of car lengths behind, block the right lane so he'd have a quick exit. That's when I noticed trouble. An older guy, probably in his fifties, ran out of the jewelery store toward the SLK.

"Check your three man!" I warned, just as Leon started to pull out of the spot. I watched as the owner came up and slammed his hands on the trunk of the car, screaming.

**:**_What the_-**:** He came to a stop, probably afraid he'd hit someone.

"Go! Go! Go!" I screamed, leaning on the horn for good measure. We needed to get the fuck out of here _now_!

Leon peeled out, causing the man to fall on his face when the trunk no longer supported his weight.

Seeing him lying in the middle of the road, I looked to the left lane to make sure nothing was coming, before I cut around him.

"We need to get rid of that fucking Lojack!" I screamed into the phone, as I trailed behind him.

**||0||**

Hitting a red light, Leon finally responded. **:**_There's a shopping center four blocks up and two over, we'll do it there!_-**:** With that said, he waited a few seconds, before making an illegal right turn when there was an opening.

As I moved up, a car cut me off, and I had to wait forty seconds before I had an opening as well. I just hoped I'd be able to find the place he was talking about.

I quickly lost sight of him, and made a left at the second light, hoping I was going in the right direction. After a few more blocks though, I found what I hoped was the one he was talking about.

Racing through the parking lot, I cut into a small strip of space for delivery trucks, between a Lowe's and K-Mart. Looking left and right, I finally saw the burgundy SLK parked next to several trailers.

After pulling up, a few feet away from the car, I jumped out and headed for the trunk.

"It took you long enough!" He called out from somewhere under the car.

"Fuck you! I'm not used to this part of town." I rifled through the trunk, before finally finding what I was looking for.

"What happened anyways?" He questioned.

"He just burst out of that store, right when you were about to leave!" I explained, as I headed toward the car. "Shit happens!"

"We're gonna be in the shit if I can't find this fucking thing!"

I shook my head, there wasn't much more we _could_ do right now, other then leave it here. But the payday was too good. I dropped the bogus license plate on the ground and started unscrewing the bolts holding the current one in it's place.

"How are we doing?" I asked, as the first one came out.

"It's stuck under the washer fluid, whoever put it in, knew what they were doing!"

As I moved to the second screw, I checked my watch. The cops and the company would start tracking this thing any minute now. "You get this done in two minutes, lunch is on me!"

Just as I put the new plate on, and Leon found the tracker, we heard sirens in the distance. We needed to think of something quick.

"Give me the tracker." I told Leon, holding out my hand.

"We gotta smash it, are you nuts?"

"They're going to be looking for that make, model, and color in _this_ area." I stabbed my finger toward the Benz. "If they're following me, you can head in the opposite direction."

"Don't get caught." He insisted unhappily, before tossing the thing to me.

After snatching it out of the air, I grabbed my tools and headed for the Honda. This was going to be fun.

**||0||**

**A/N 2: I recently started an archive for plot ideas and one-shots, simply called 'The Rantings of a Madman'. If you have the opportunity, check it out, and let me know what you think.**

**||0||**

**END**


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